Theming Engine

ABSTRACT

A cascading stylesheet (CSS) file transformed with user-selected design variables is provided. One or more CSS files may be received as a first input item, and user defined colors, fonts, layout, and images may be received as a second input item. Embodiments provide for determining if the colors and fonts selected by the user are usable and legible. User-selected color and font schemes may be modified if necessary, and a modified CSS file may be outputted to a rendering engine for rendering an aesthetically pleasing, usable, and legible web page.

BACKGROUND

With advancements in web design application software, users are able tocreate web pages with little to no web design knowledge or experience.Many current web design software applications offer templates forhelping users without design experience to create professional-lookingweb pages. Some web design software applications offer tools forallowing users to change the look and feel of their web pages. When auser modifies a template by selecting colors, fonts, layouts, etc., aset of cascading style sheet (CSS) files describing presentationproperties of the pages may be modified with the user's selections. Thisis oftentimes a direct translation.

While it may be desirable for non-design experienced users to be able tocustomize a web page with the use of user friendly tools, giving usersthis ability oftentimes leads to web page designs that lack usability,legibility, and aesthetically pleasing fonts and colors.

It is with respect to these and other considerations that the presentinvention has been made.

SUMMARY

Embodiments of the present invention solve the above and other problemsby providing users lacking web design experience with the ability tocreate professional-looking web pages. As described above, prior methodsfor customizing a web page template comprise passing a CSS file withmodifications made by a user to a rendering application that wouldultimately use the content of the CSS file to render a web page.

Embodiments of the present invention provide for receiving a CSS file asa first input item and receiving user defined colors, fonts, layout, andimages as a second input item. Embodiments may determine if the colorsand fonts selected by the user are usable and legible, and may modifyuser-selected color and font schemes if necessary. A modified CSS filemay be outputted to a rendering engine for rendering an aestheticallypleasing, usable, and legible web page.

The details of one or more embodiments are set forth in the accompanyingdrawings and description below. Other features and advantages will beapparent from a reading of the following detailed description and areview of the associated drawings. It is to be understood that thefollowing detailed description is explanatory only and is notrestrictive of the invention as claimed.

This summary is provided to introduce a selection of concepts in asimplified form that are further described below in the detaileddescription. This summary is not intended to identify key features oressential features of the claimed subject matter, nor is it intended asan aid in determining the scope of the claimed subject matter.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and constitute apart of this disclosure, illustrate various embodiments of the presentinvention. In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating an example system architecture;

FIG. 2 is an illustration of an example user interface providing aselectable design variable of page layouts;

FIG. 3 is an illustration of an example user interface providing a mockpreview of a web page and selectable design variables of color schemes,font schemes, and an inclusion of an image;

FIG. 4 is a process flow diagram illustrating an example process ofgenerating a modified CSS file according to design variables selected bya user;

FIG. 5 is a block diagram illustrating example physical components of acomputing device with which embodiments of the invention may bepracticed;

FIGS. 6A and 6B are simplified block diagrams of a mobile computingdevice with which embodiments of the present invention may be practiced;and

FIG. 7 is a simplified block diagram of a distributed computing systemin which embodiments of the present invention may be practiced.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

As briefly described above, embodiments of the present invention aredirected to providing presentation properties of a web page in atransformed cascading style sheet file according to user-defined designvariables. The user-defined design variables may be verified to meet aprescribed design criteria before the transformed cascading style sheetfile is outputted to a rendering engine for rendering a web page.

The following description refers to the accompanying drawings. Wheneverpossible, the same reference numbers are used in the drawings and thefollowing description to refer to the same or similar elements. Whileembodiments of the invention may be described, modifications,adaptations, and other implementations are possible. For example,substitutions, additions, or modifications may be made to the elementsillustrated in the drawings, and the methods described herein may bemodified by substituting, reordering, or adding stages to the disclosedmethods. Accordingly, the following detailed description does not limitthe invention. Instead, the proper scope of the invention is defined bythe appended claims.

Referring now to the drawings, in which like numerals represent likeelements through the several figures, aspects of the present inventionand the exemplary operating environment will be described. While theinvention will be described in the general context of program modulesthat execute in conjunction with an application program that runs on anoperating system on a personal computer, those skilled in the art willrecognize that the invention may also be implemented in combination withother program modules.

Generally, program modules include routines, programs, components, datastructures, and other types of structures that perform particular tasksor implement particular abstract data types. Moreover, those skilled inthe art will appreciate that the invention may be practiced with othercomputer system configurations, including hand-held devices,multiprocessor systems, microprocessor-based or programmable consumerelectronics, minicomputers, mainframe computers, and the like. Theinvention may also be practiced in distributed computing environmentswhere tasks are performed by remote processing devices that are linkedthrough a communications network. In a distributed computingenvironment, program modules may be located in both local and remotememory storage devices.

Referring now to FIG. 1, as described above, a theming engine 105 may beutilized to output a transformed cascading style sheet file according toreceived specification input for color, font, and/or imagetransformations for rendering a web page. The system architectureillustrated in FIG. 1 is one example of a system architecture, but isnot limiting of a vast number of systems that may be employed forembodiments of the present invention. The theming engine 105 may beutilized to receive input items, for example, a set of style sheetfiles, such as cascading style sheet 110 files, and theme specificationinput 115, as shown in FIG. 1. Although shown in FIG. 1 as a singlefile, a plurality of specification may be applied together.

The first input item, which may be a cascading style sheet (CSS) file ora set of cascading style sheet 110 files, may be provided for describingpresentation properties of a document, such as a web page 135. CSS files110 may define such presentation properties as, but not limited to,color, font, text alignment, size, and layout. CSS files 110 maycomprise one or more annotations, which may be in the form of comments,which may be a mapping between a CSS and a resulting document (e.g., webpage 135). An annotation may precede a CSS syntax specifying apresentation property, for example, a color value. As should beappreciated, an annotation may precede other CSS syntaxes such as, butnot limited to, an image declaration or a font declaration. According toembodiments, a multilingual webpage may comprise separate CSS files 110for each language so that page formatting may be in a presentation morenatural to a user of a specific language.

As shown in FIG. 1, theme specification file input 115 may be receivedby the theming engine 105. The theme specification input file 115 may beone or more theme specification files generated according to designvariables chosen by a user via a color scheme, a layout, a font scheme,and inclusion of one or more images. According to one embodiment,multiple theme specifications 115 may be combined before being passed tothe theming engine 105. According to another embodiment, a plurality oftheme specifications 115 may be passed to the theming engine 105 and maybe consolidated by the theming engine 105.

With reference now to FIG. 2, a user interface 200 with various designcombinations 205 is illustrated. The shown user interface 200 is anexample of a starting point for a user to choose a starting set ofdesign variables for a page, such as a web page 135. The starting set ofdesign variables may include a plurality of design combinations 205 fromwhich to choose. A design combination 205 may comprise a starting colorscheme and a starting font scheme. Upon selecting a design combination205, a second user interface 300 may be provided for modifying designvariables as shown in FIG. 3.

Referring to FIG. 3, various color palettes may be provided forselecting a color scheme 310 for applying to the web page 135. Accordingto an embodiment, a color palette may be a predetermined set of colorsthat may be considered as an aesthetically pleasing group of colors fordisplay on a monitor. Various font families may also be provided forselecting a font scheme 315 to apply to the web page 135. According toan embodiment, a font scheme may be a designer produced schemecomprising a plurality of fonts that coordinate typographically.According to one embodiment, a font scheme may comprise a collection offour fonts. As shown in FIG. 3, an image input element may be providedfor inserting an image 320 into the web page 135.

According to an embodiment, the inserted image 320 may be used as abackground image. A path to the inserted image 320 in a themespecification file 115 may be outputted to the new CSS file 125 based onwhere the annotation is placed in the input CSS file 110. The image maybe processed with an overlay of a translucent block of color so thattext on top of the image 320 may be legible. The translucent block ofcolor may be provided via specifying color via an RGBA syntax, whereinthe “A” specifies an alpha channel.

Referring still to FIG. 3, a mock preview 305 may be provided. Accordingto embodiments, a mock preview 305 may be an HTML representation of aselected layout with tokenized aspects which may include a selectedcolor scheme 310, a selected font scheme 315, and/or an inserted image320. The mock preview 305 may be updated in real time via stringreplacement on the client. After a user has finished making designvariable selections, a control 325 may be selected, illustrated in FIG.3 as an arrow and the text “Try it out”, which when selected, may outputthe chosen design variables to the theming engine 105. According toembodiments, the chosen design variables 310,315,320 may be passed tothe theming engine 105 in a single theme specification file 115.According to other embodiments, chosen design variables may be passed tothe theming engine 105 in a plurality of theme specification files 115.

As described briefly above and with reference back to FIG. 1, thetheming engine 105 may be operable to receive a set of CSS files 110 andone or more theme specification files 115 as inputs. According toembodiments, the theming engine 105 may scan through CSS files 110 fordeclarations for color, font, or image properties. When a CSS color,font, or image property declaration is found, for example, a CSS rulewith a color declaration for a hexadecimal color value such as {fontcolor:#B40404}, the theming engine 105 may check for a themingannotation occurring since the end of a previous property declaration(e.g., a last instance of a semicolon or closing bracket). For example,a theming annotation may be “accent 1.” The font color (e.g., #B40404)and the annotation (e.g., accent 1) may be sent into a code path forreplacing the existing color #B40404 with the color defined in the themespecification file 115 for the slot “accent 1”. According toembodiments, the theming engine 105 may read color values of varioussyntaxes. The theming engine 105 may note the context in which the colorexisted. Accordingly, when the code path of the color replacement isrun, the appropriate syntax may be output where the original colorexisted.

According to embodiments, various rules may be applied for defininglegible and aesthetically pleasing fonts, colors, and layouts. Userdefined colors and fonts may be modified to preserve legibility factorsof default specified colors and fonts. According to one embodiment, whena user chooses colors to use for a web page 135, the lightness of thechosen colors may be matched against the lightness of the default colorswhile the hue may be preserved. If the lightness for a user-chosenbackground and foreground are inverted (e.g., light-on-dark colorscheme), the proportional inverse of the lightness value of the defaultcolors may be utilized. According to another embodiment, alternativecolor choices may be suggested if the user-chosen colors do not meetlegibility rules.

According to embodiments, when the theming engine 105 scans an input CSSfile 110 and finds a font declaration and if the font declaration isannotated to be replaced, the engine may go into the font scheme 315,find the font being requested, and output the appropriate font into theoutputted CSS file 125. In some cases, a requested font may beconsidered a non-web safe font. A non-web safe font may be a font thatis not a standard font. That is, a non-web safe font may be less likelyto be installed a user's computing device. Therefore, if a non-web safefont is selected for a web page 135, the end user may not see the webpage in the font that the user designing the page intended. Embodimentsof the present invention provide for ensuring that a web page 135 withthe intended font is displayed to an end user by embedding the font intothe web page. According to embodiments, when the theming engine 105scans a CSS file 110 and sees a font declaration, the theming enginelooks for an associated annotation. If an associated annotation isfound, the font scheme file may be searched for an appropriate font toinsert. If the font has a URL for the font, the font is a web font file.It may be determined that the font is not a web-safe font. The necessarysyntax to embed the font may be outputted into the output CSS file 125.When the associated web page 135 is requested, the web font file may beserved along with the web page 135. Accordingly, the font may bedisplayed on the web page 135 as the user designing the page intended.

As shown in FIG. 1, the system 100 may include an output buffer 120.According to embodiments, an input CSS file 110 may contain text andnonfunctional portions of annotations that may be streamed through thetheming engine 105 that are not items of interest. That is, the text maynot contain color, font, or image property declarations or declarationswith preceding annotations. These text items may be directly copied fromthe input 110 into the output buffer 120. When an item of interest isfound in a CSS file 110 (i.e., a declaration for color, font, or animage property with a preceding annotation), the specified item may beput into a code path, where the replacement may be made if necessary,and the modified item may be outputted into the output buffer 120.

According to embodiments, some found items of interest may be outputtedto the output buffer 120 as an item to be done in a subsequent step. Forexample, if a reference to an image with an annotation for the image tobe recolored is found, the item may be outputted to the output buffer120 for the image processing to be done subsequently. When the outputbuffer 120 is transformed into a new CSS file 125, items such as textinput may be printed out into a text output. When a to-do item, forexample, the image processing item, is found, the image may be read offa file path to do the appropriate image processing, for example, tochange the color. The outputted file may be produced and saved into auseful location, and a path to the outputted file may be outputted intothe new CSS file 125. According to embodiments, metadata for themes mayalso be output. The metadata may include, but is not restricted to,information about a theme (e.g., color theme, usage statistics, hit/missrates, errors found, performance metrics, and accessibility informationincluding localized color names, etc.).

When the new CSS files 125 have been output into a path, the new CSSfiles may be passed through a rendering engine 130. A preview of theupdated web page 135 may be displayed to the user via the user'sbrowser. The preview may be a true preview of his/her web page 135 withthe theming parameters applied, and may be accessible only to the user.At this point, the CSS output files 125 have been produced; however, theweb site has not been set to point to the new output files yet. Uponreceiving a selection from the user to keep the new web page 135 design,the site may be set to point to the newly generated CSS files 125.Accordingly, for users who access the site, the new CSS files 125 willbe loaded from a folder containing the new themed CSS files instead offrom the default path, and the new web page 135 design will bedisplayed. As mentioned previously, separate CSS files 125 may beprovided for each language of multilingual web pages 135. Each CSS file125 may provide for a more natural presentation to a user of a specifiedlanguage.

Having described an example system architecture 100, FIG. 4 is a flowdiagram illustrating a process 400 of generating CSS files that point ata themes path instead of a default path according to an embodiment. Theprocess starts at OPERATION (405), and proceeds to OPERATION (410) whereCSS files 110 and one or more theme specification files 115 are receivedby a theming engine 105. As was described above, the CSS files 110 maystore external style sheets defining how to display HTML elements in aweb page 135. A theme specification file 115 may comprise designvariables (e.g., color scheme 310, font scheme 315, and/or an image 320)selected by a user for customizing the web page 135.

Upon receiving an indication to generate a preview of the new web page135 design, the theming engine 105 may scan the input files 110, 115 foritems of interest (415). According to embodiments, and as was describedabove, an item of interest may include a declaration with a font, color,or image value. If an item of interest is found, the theming engine 105may look to see if an annotation precedes the item of interest in theform of a comment (420). Items that are not items of interest may becopied from the CSS files 110 to an output buffer 120 (440).

If a font value with a preceding annotation is found (420), the font maybe replaced with the selected font specified in the theme specificationfile 115 (425). The new font may then be passed to the output buffer 120(425). If a color value with a preceding annotation is found (420), thecolor may be replaced with the selected color specified in the themespecification file 115 (425) if the selected color scheme meetslegibility requirements. If the selected color scheme does not meetlegibility requirements, alternatives may be suggested or automaticallymodified to match legibility properties associated with default colorschemes. The new color may then be passed to the output buffer 120(425).

If a reference to an image and a preceding annotation is found (420), atOPERATION 430, minor transformations may be performed, and imageprocessing transformation operations may be passed to the output buffer120 for processing in a subsequent step. At OPERATION (442), to-do itemsin the output buffer 120, such as an image processing item, may beperformed. For example, for an image processing item, the image may beread from a file path, and the appropriate image processing may beperformed (442). At OPERATION 445, an output file of the transformeditem (e.g., processed image) may be produced and saved in a usefullocation. A path to the outputted file of the processed image may beoutputted to the new CSS file 125 (445).

At OPERATION (450), the new CSS files 125 may be outputted to a rendererso that the new page 135 design may be displayed to the user. If theuser wants to make changes, he/she may go back to a user interface200,300 for selecting different design variables 305,310,315,320 whichmay be updated in the theme specification file 115. If an indication ofa selection to keep the new page 135 design is received (455), the website may be set to point to the new CSS files 125. Accordingly, whenuser accesses the web site, the code that outputs references to the CSSfiles may point at the folder containing the new CSS files 125 insteadof the default path.

The embodiments and functionalities described herein may operate via amultitude of computing systems, including wired and wireless computingsystems, mobile computing systems (e.g., mobile telephones, tablet orslate type computers, laptop computers, etc.). In addition, theembodiments and functionalities described herein may operate overdistributed systems, where application functionality, memory, datastorage and retrieval and various processing functions may be operatedremotely from each other over a distributed computing network, such asthe Internet or an intranet. User interfaces and information of varioustypes may be displayed via on-board computing device displays or viaremote display units associated with one or more computing devices. Forexample user interfaces and information of various types may bedisplayed and interacted with on a wall surface onto which userinterfaces and information of various types are projected. Interactionwith the multitude of computing systems with which embodiments of theinvention may be practiced include, keystroke entry, touch screen entry,voice or other audio entry, gesture entry where an associated computingdevice is equipped with detection (e.g., camera) functionality forcapturing and interpreting user gestures for controlling thefunctionality of the computing device, and the like. FIGS. 5-7 and theassociated descriptions provide a discussion of a variety of operatingenvironments in which embodiments of the invention may be practiced.However, the devices and systems illustrated and discussed with respectto FIGS. 5-7 are for purposes of example and illustration and are notlimiting of a vast number of computing device configurations that may beutilized for practicing embodiments of the invention, described herein.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram illustrating example physical components of acomputing device 500 with which embodiments of the invention may bepracticed. In a basic configuration, computing device 500 may include atleast one processing unit 502 and a system memory 504. Depending on theconfiguration and type of computing device, system memory 504 maycomprise, but is not limited to, volatile (e.g. random access memory(RAM)), non-volatile (e.g. read-only memory (ROM)), flash memory, or anycombination. System memory 504 may include operating system 505, one ormore programming modules 506, and may include a theming engine 105.Operating system 505, for example, may be suitable for controllingcomputing device 500's operation. Furthermore, embodiments of theinvention may be practiced in conjunction with a graphics library, otheroperating systems, or any other application program and is not limitedto any particular application or system. This basic configuration isillustrated in FIG. 5 by those components within a dashed line 508.

Computing device 500 may have additional features or functionality. Forexample, computing device 500 may also include additional data storagedevices (removable and/or non-removable) such as, for example, magneticdisks, optical disks, or tape. Such additional storage is illustrated inFIG. 5 by a removable storage 509 and a non-removable storage 510.

As stated above, a number of program modules and data files may bestored in system memory 504, including operating system 505. Whileexecuting on processing unit 502, programming modules 506, such as atheming engine 105 may perform processes including, for example, one ormore method 400's operations as described above. The aforementionedprocess is an example, and processing unit 502 may perform otherprocesses. Other programming modules that may be used in accordance withembodiments of the present invention may include electronic mail andcontacts applications, word processing applications, spreadsheetapplications, database applications, slide presentation applications,drawing or computer-aided application programs, etc.

Generally, consistent with embodiments of the invention, program modulesmay include routines, programs, components, data structures, and othertypes of structures that may perform particular tasks or that mayimplement particular abstract data types. Moreover, embodiments of theinvention may be practiced with other computer system configurations,including hand-held devices, multiprocessor systems,microprocessor-based or programmable consumer electronics,minicomputers, mainframe computers, and the like. Embodiments of theinvention may also be practiced in distributed computing environmentswhere tasks are performed by remote processing devices that are linkedthrough a communications network. In a distributed computingenvironment, program modules may be located in both local and remotememory storage devices.

Furthermore, embodiments of the invention may be practiced in anelectrical circuit comprising discrete electronic elements, packaged orintegrated electronic chips containing logic gates, a circuit utilizinga microprocessor, or on a single chip containing electronic elements ormicroprocessors. For example, embodiments of the invention may bepracticed via a system-on-a-chip (SOC) where each or many of thecomponents illustrated in FIG. 5 may be integrated onto a singleintegrated circuit. Such an SOC device may include one or moreprocessing units, graphics units, communications units, systemvirtualization units and various application functionality all of whichare integrated (or “burned”) onto the chip substrate as a singleintegrated circuit. When operating via an SOC, the functionality,described herein, with respect to theming engine 105 may be operated viaapplication-specific logic integrated with other components of thecomputing device/system 500 on the single integrated circuit (chip).Embodiments of the invention may also be practiced using othertechnologies capable of performing logical operations such as, forexample, AND, OR, and NOT, including but not limited to mechanical,optical, fluidic, and quantum technologies. In addition, embodiments ofthe invention may be practiced within a general purpose computer or inany other circuits or systems.

Embodiments of the invention, for example, may be implemented as acomputer process (method), a computing system, or as an article ofmanufacture, such as a computer program product or computer readablemedia. The computer program product may be a computer storage mediareadable by a computer system and encoding a computer program ofinstructions for executing a computer process.

The term computer readable media as used herein may include computerstorage media. Computer storage media may include volatile andnonvolatile, removable and non-removable media implemented in any methodor technology for storage of information, such as computer readableinstructions, data structures, program modules, or other data. Systemmemory 504, removable storage 509, and non-removable storage 510 are allcomputer storage media examples (i.e., memory storage.) Computer storagemedia may include, but is not limited to, RAM, ROM, electricallyerasable read-only memory (EEPROM), flash memory or other memorytechnology, CD-ROM, digital versatile disks (DVD) or other opticalstorage, magnetic cassettes, magnetic tape, magnetic disk storage orother magnetic storage devices, or any other medium which can be used tostore information and which can be accessed by computing device 500. Anysuch computer storage media may be part of device 500. Computing device500 may also have input device(s) 512 such as a keyboard, a mouse, apen, a sound input device, a touch input device, etc. Output device(s)514 such as a display, speakers, a printer, etc. may also be included.The aforementioned devices are examples and others may be used.

The term computer readable media as used herein may also includecommunication media. Communication media may be embodied by computerreadable instructions, data structures, program modules, or other datain a modulated data signal, such as a carrier wave or other transportmechanism, and includes any information delivery media. The term“modulated data signal” may describe a signal that has one or morecharacteristics set or changed in such a manner as to encode informationin the signal. By way of example, and not limitation, communicationmedia may include wired media such as a wired network or direct-wiredconnection, and wireless media such as acoustic, radio frequency (RF),infrared, and other wireless media.

FIGS. 6A and 6B illustrate a suitable mobile computing environment, forexample, a mobile telephone 600, a smartphone, a tablet personalcomputer, a laptop computer, and the like, with which embodiments of theinvention may be practiced. With reference to FIG. 6A, an example mobilecomputing device 600 for implementing the embodiments is illustrated. Ina basic configuration, mobile computing device 600 is a handheldcomputer having both input elements and output elements. Input elementsmay include touch screen display 605 and input buttons 615 that allowthe user to enter information into mobile computing device 600. Mobilecomputing device 600 may also incorporate an optional side input element615 allowing further user input. Optional side input element 615 may bea rotary switch, a button, or any other type of manual input element. Inalternative embodiments, mobile computing device 600 may incorporatemore or less input elements. For example, display 605 may not be a touchscreen in some embodiments. In yet another alternative embodiment, themobile computing device is a portable phone system, such as a cellularphone having display 605 and input buttons 615. Mobile computing device600 may also include an optional keypad 735. Optional keypad 635 may bea physical keypad or a “soft” keypad generated on the touch screendisplay.

Mobile computing device 600 incorporates output elements, such asdisplay 605, which can display a graphical user interface (GUI). Otheroutput elements include speaker 625 and LED light 620. Additionally,mobile computing device 600 may incorporate a vibration module (notshown), which causes mobile computing device 600 to vibrate to notifythe user of an event. In yet another embodiment, mobile computing device600 may incorporate a headphone jack (not shown) for providing anothermeans of providing output signals.

Although described herein in combination with mobile computing device600, in alternative embodiments the invention is used in combinationwith any number of computer systems, such as in desktop environments,laptop or notebook computer systems, multiprocessor systems,micro-processor based or programmable consumer electronics, network PCs,mini computers, main frame computers and the like. Embodiments of theinvention may also be practiced in distributed computing environmentswhere tasks are performed by remote processing devices that are linkedthrough a communications network in a distributed computing environment;programs may be located in both local and remote memory storage devices.

FIG. 6B is a block diagram illustrating components of a mobile computingdevice used in one embodiment, such as the computing device shown inFIG. 6A. That is, mobile computing device 600 can incorporate system 602to implement some embodiments. For example, system 602 can be used inimplementing a “smart phone” that can run one or more applicationssimilar to those of a desktop or notebook computer such as, for example,browser, e-mail, scheduling, instant messaging, and media playerapplications. In some embodiments, system 602 is integrated as acomputing device, such as an integrated personal digital assistant (PDA)and wireless phone.

One or more application programs 666 may be loaded into memory 662 andrun on or in association with operating system 664. Examples ofapplication programs include phone dialer programs, e-mail programs, PIM(personal information management) programs, word processing programs,spreadsheet programs, Internet browser programs, messaging programs, andso forth. System 602 also includes non-volatile storage 668 withinmemory 662. Non-volatile storage 668 may be used to store persistentinformation that should not be lost if system 602 is powered down.Applications 666 may use and store information in non-volatile storage668, such as e-mail or other messages used by an e-mail application, andthe like. A synchronization application (not shown) also resides onsystem 602 and is programmed to interact with a correspondingsynchronization application resident on a host computer to keep theinformation stored in non-volatile storage 668 synchronized withcorresponding information stored at the host computer. As should beappreciated, other applications may be loaded into memory 662 and run onthe device 600, including a theming engine 105, described herein.

System 602 has a power supply 670, which may be implemented as one ormore batteries. Power supply 670 might further include an external powersource, such as an AC adapter or a powered docking cradle thatsupplements or recharges the batteries.

System 602 may also include a radio 672 that performs the function oftransmitting and receiving radio frequency communications. Radio 672facilitates wireless connectivity between system 602 and the “outsideworld”, via a communications carrier or service provider. Transmissionsto and from radio 672 are conducted under control of OS 664. In otherwords, communications received by radio 672 may be disseminated toapplication programs 666 via OS 664, and vice versa.

Radio 672 allows system 602 to communicate with other computing devices,such as over a network. Radio 672 is one example of communication media.Communication media may typically be embodied by computer readableinstructions, data structures, program modules, or other data in amodulated data signal, such as a carrier wave or other transportmechanism, and includes any information delivery media. The term“modulated data signal” means a signal that has one or more of itscharacteristics set or changed in such a manner as to encode informationin the signal. By way of example, and not limitation, communicationmedia includes wired media such as a wired network or direct-wiredconnection, and wireless media such as acoustic, RF, infrared and otherwireless media. The term computer readable media as used herein includesboth storage media and communication media.

This embodiment of system 602 is shown with two types of notificationoutput devices; LED 620 that can be used to provide visual notificationsand an audio interface 674 that can be used with speaker 625 to provideaudio notifications. These devices may be directly coupled to powersupply 670 so that when activated, they remain on for a durationdictated by the notification mechanism even though processor 660 andother components might shut down for conserving battery power. LED 620may be programmed to remain on indefinitely until the user takes actionto indicate the powered-on status of the device. Audio interface 674 isused to provide audible signals to and receive audible signals from theuser. For example, in addition to being coupled to speaker 625, audiointerface 674 may also be coupled to a microphone to receive audibleinput, such as to facilitate a telephone conversation. In accordancewith embodiments of the present invention, the microphone 620 may alsoserve as an audio sensor to facilitate control of notifications, as willbe described below. System 602 may further include video interface 676that enables an operation of on-board camera 630 to record still images,video stream, and the like.

A mobile computing device implementing system 602 may have additionalfeatures or functionality. For example, the device may also includeadditional data storage devices (removable and/or non-removable) suchas, magnetic disks, optical disks, or tape. Such additional storage isillustrated in FIG. 6B by storage 668. Computer storage media mayinclude volatile and nonvolatile, removable and non-removable mediaimplemented in any method or technology for storage of information, suchas computer readable instructions, data structures, program modules, orother data.

Data/information generated or captured by the device 600 and stored viathe system 602 may be stored locally on the device 600, as describedabove, or the data may be stored on any number of storage media that maybe accessed by the device via the radio 672 or via a wired connectionbetween the device 600 and a separate computing device associated withthe device 600, for example, a server computer in a distributedcomputing network, such as the Internet. As should be appreciated suchdata/information may be accessed via the device 600 via the radio 672 orvia a distributed computing network. Similarly, such data/informationmay be readily transferred between computing devices for storage and useaccording to well-known data/information transfer and storage means,including electronic mail and collaborative data/information sharingsystems.

FIG. 7 illustrates a system architecture for providing dynamicallygenerated indices, as described above. Content developed, interactedwith or edited in association with a theming engine 105 may be stored indifferent communication channels or other storage types. For example,various content items along with information from which they aredeveloped may be stored using directory services 722, web portals 724,mailbox services 726, instant messaging stores 728 and social networkingsites 730. The theming engine 105 may use any of these types of systemsor the like for generating new CSS files 125 incorporating input CSSfiles 110 and one or more theme specification files 115, as describedherein. A server 720 may receive requests to run the theming engine 105and pass items to clients. As one example, server 720 may be a webserver providing content over the web. Server 720 may provide contentover the web to clients through a network 715. Examples of clients thatmay obtain content include computing device 500, which may include anygeneral purpose personal computer 500, a tablet computing device 110and/or mobile computing device 500 which may include smart phones. Anyof these devices may obtain content from the store 716.

Embodiments of the present invention, for example, are described abovewith reference to block diagrams and/or operational illustrations ofmethods, systems, and computer program products according to embodimentsof the invention. The functions/acts noted in the blocks may occur outof the order as shown in any flowchart. For example, two blocks shown insuccession may in fact be executed substantially concurrently or theblocks may sometimes be executed in the reverse order, depending uponthe functionality/acts involved.

While certain embodiments of the invention have been described, otherembodiments may exist. Furthermore, although embodiments of the presentinvention have been described as being associated with data stored inmemory and other storage mediums, data can also be stored on or readfrom other types of computer-readable media, such as secondary storagedevices, like hard disks, floppy disks, or a CD-ROM, a carrier wave fromthe Internet, or other forms of RAM or ROM. Further, the disclosedmethods' stages may be modified in any manner, including by reorderingstages and/or inserting or deleting stages, without departing from theinvention.

It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that variousmodifications or variations may be made in the present invention withoutdeparting from the scope or spirit of the invention. Other embodimentsof the invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art fromconsideration of the specification and practice of the inventiondisclosed herein.

We claim:
 1. A method for transforming presentation properties of apage, the method comprising: receiving a first input item, the firstinput comprising one or more values associated with a layout, color,font, or an image for defining presentation properties of the page;receiving a second input item corresponding to the page, the secondinput defining one or more design variables selected by a user, the oneor more design variables specifying a layout, a color scheme, a fontscheme, or a background image; modifying one or more of the one or morevalues associated with the layout, color, font, or image in the firstinput item according to the one or more design variables defined in thesecond input item; and outputting the modifications into one or morestyle sheets for defining the presentation properties of the page. 2.The method of claim 1, wherein the first input item is one or morecascading style sheet (CSS) files and the second input item is one ormore theme specification files.
 3. The method of claim 1, whereinmodifying one or more of the one or more values associated with thecolor, font, or image in the first input item according to the one ormore design variables defined in the second input item further comprisesdetermining if the one or more design variables defined in the secondinput item match legibility factors of values defined for default colorschemes or font schemes.
 4. The method of claim 3, wherein if a designvariable defined in the second input item does not match legibilityfactors of values defined for default color schemes or font schemes,modifying the design variable selected by the user to preservelegibility properties of the default color schemes or font schemes. 5.The method of claim 1, wherein prior to modifying one or more of the oneor more values associated with the layout, color, font, or image in thefirst input item according to the one or more design variables definedin the second input item: scanning the received first input itemcorresponding to the page for one or more values associated with alayout, color, font, or an image for use in the page; and if a valueassociated with a layout, color, font, or an image is found, searchingfor a preceding annotation, the annotation indicating a modification tothe layout, color, font, or image.
 6. The method of claim 5, wherein ifa value associated with an image is found and an annotation indicating amodification to the image is found: outputting the value and annotationto an output buffer; reading the image from a file path; applyingmodifications to the image; producing and storing an output file of themodified image; outputting a path to the outputted file of the modifiedimage; and outputting the path to the outputted file of the modifiedimage to the one or more style sheets for defining the presentationproperties of the page.
 7. The method of claim 6, wherein the image isannotated to be a background image.
 8. The method of claim 1 wherein thevalue associated with a color includes one of various color syntaxes. 9.The method of claim 8 wherein one of various color syntaxes includes asyntax comprising a translucency value.
 10. The method of claim 5,wherein if a value associated with a font is found and an annotationindicating a modification to the font is found, prior to modifying thefont: searching for whether a uniform resource locator (URL) isdescribed in the font scheme; and if a URL is described in the fontscheme, embedding the font in the one or more style sheets for definingthe presentation properties of the page.
 11. The method of claim 1,further comprising outputting the one or more style sheets for definingthe presentation properties of the page to a renderer for rendering aweb page.
 12. A system for transforming presentation properties of apage, the system comprising a theming engine operable to: receive afirst input item, the first input comprising one or more valuesassociated with a layout, color, font, or an image for definingpresentation properties of the page; receive a second input itemcorresponding to the page, the second input defining one or more designvariables selected by a user, the one or more design variablesspecifying a layout, a color scheme, a font scheme, or a backgroundimage; scan the received first input item for a value associated with alayout, color, font, or an image for use in the page; if a valueassociated with a layout, color, font, or an image is found, search fora preceding annotation, the annotation indicating a modification to thelayout, color, font, or image; if an annotation indicating amodification to the layout, color, font, or image is found, modify oneor more of the one or more values associated with the layout, color,font, or image in the first input item according to the one or moredesign variables defined in the second input item; and output themodifications into one or more style sheets for defining thepresentation properties of the page to a renderer for rendering a webpage.
 13. The system of claim 12, wherein the theming engine is furtheroperable to determine if a design variable defined in the second inputitem matches legibility factors of values defined for default colorschemes or font schemes.
 14. The system of claim 13, wherein a designvariable defined in the second input item does not match legibilityfactors of values defined for default color schemes or font schemes, thetheming engine is further operable to modify the design variableselected by the user to preserve legibility properties of the defaultcolor schemes or font schemes.
 15. The system of claim 12, wherein if avalue associated with a font is found and an annotation indicating amodification to the font is found, prior to modifying the font thetheming engine is further operable to: search for whether a uniformresource locator (URL) is described in the font scheme; and if a URL isdescribed in the font scheme, embed the font in the one or more stylesheets for defining the presentation properties of the page.
 16. Thesystem of claim 12, wherein if a value associated with an image is foundand an annotation indicating a modification to the image is found, thetheming engine is further operable to: output the value and annotationto an output buffer; read the image from a file path; applymodifications to the image; produce and storing an output file of themodified image; output a path to the outputted file of the modifiedimage; and output the path to the outputted file of the modified imageto the one or more style sheets for defining the presentation propertiesof the page.
 17. The system of claim 16, wherein the image is annotatedto be a background image and a value associated with a color includes asyntax comprising a translucency value.
 18. The system of claim 12,wherein the first input item is a set of CSS files, the second inputitem is one or more theme specification files, and the one or more stylesheets for defining the presentation properties of the page is a set oftransformed CSS files.
 19. A computer readable medium containingcomputer-executable instructions which when executed by a computerperform a method for transforming presentation properties of a web page,the method comprising: receiving a first input item, the first inputitem comprising one or more values associated with a layout, color,font, or an image for defining presentation properties of the web page;receiving a second input item corresponding to the page, the secondinput defining one or more design variables selected by a user, the oneor more design variables specifying a layout, a color scheme, a fontscheme, or a background image; scanning the received first input itemfor a value associated with a layout, color, font, or an image for usein the web page; if a value associated with a layout, color, font, or animage is found, searching for a preceding annotation, the annotationindicating a modification to the layout, color, font, or image; if anannotation indicating a modification to the layout, color, font, orimage is found, determining if the one or more design variables definedin the second input item match legibility factors of values defined fordefault color schemes or font schemes; if a design variable defined inthe second input item does not match legibility factors of valuesdefined for default color schemes or font schemes, modifying the designvariable selected by the user to preserve legibility properties of thedefault color schemes or font schemes; if a design variable defined inthe second input item matches legibility factors of values defined fordefault color schemes or font schemes, modifying the value associatedwith the layout, color, font, or image in the one or more received CSSfiles according to the design variable defined in the second input item;and outputting the modifications into a set of transformed set of CSSfiles to a renderer for rendering the web page.
 20. The computerreadable medium of claim 19, further comprising if a value associatedwith a font is found and an annotation indicating a modification to thefont is found, searching for whether a uniform resource locator (URL) isdescribed in the font scheme, and if a URL is described in the fontscheme, embedding the font in the transformed set of CSS files.